Who would you prefer as MU's new coach

[Norm]

OK, with all the speculation on who the new Marquette coach should be, I thought I'd see what folks' preferences were. For this poll, I did not include Tony Bennett, Sean Miller and Bruce Weber, as they all have indicated they are not leaving their respective programs.

Of the remaining names being tossed around, who do you prefer?

I am leaning towards Anthony Grant.

[lab_warrior]

I'm big on Grant and Lowery.  NEW BLOOD...move in a new direction.  But yet, those guys can coach our current roster, maybe get alot more out of them (ie pressing, ball movement against a zone, etc...)

[Norm]

Well, it looks like Brain Gregory may be the guy according to some reports (out of Dayton, go figure).

Here's some background on Gregory from the Dayton website:

A native of Mount Prospect, Ill., Gregory began his coaching career in 1990 at Michigan State University on Jud Heathcote's staff until 1995, and then served as associate head coach on Tom Izzo's staff when he returned to MSU in 1999.

In 1996, Gregory followed Stan Joplin when Joplin went from Michigan State to become Toledo's head coach. After one season at Toledo, Gregory returned to the Big Ten by joining Kevin O'Neill's program at Northwestern. Gregory returned to Michigan State for the 1999-2000 season when he joined Tom Izzo's staff in East Lansing. After two seasons serving as an assistant coach, Gregory was elevated to Associate Head Coach for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

In his last stint at Michigan State, the Spartans went to the NCAA tournament all four seasons, reaching the Final Four in 2000 and 2001, and winning the NCAA national championship in 2000.

In the four years coinciding with Gregory's return to Michigan State, the Spartans had a national championship, two Final Four appearances, three Elite Eight appearances, four NCAA bids, two Big Ten Championships, four players drafted in the first round of the NBA draft, and MSU signed six McDonald's All-Americans.

As a recruiter, he was part of four Top Ten recruiting classes at Michigan State. He also helped bring a Top Twenty recruiting class to Northwestern.

Gregory is the fourth Tom Izzo assistant to land a Division I head coaching position. In addition to Joplin, Marquette's Tom Crean (who took Marquette to the 2004 Final Four) and Arkansas' Stan Heath (who took Kent State to the 2002 Sweet Sixteen) are part of Izzo's coaching family tree.

Gregory graduated from Oakland University in 1990 with a bachelor of arts in secondary education and earned a master's degree in athletic administration from Michigan State in 1992. While at Oakland, he was a three-time all-conference selection, and was named an Academic All-American in 1990. He was inducted into Oakland's Hall of Fame in 1997. Before transferring to Oakland, Gregory spent one year at the United States Naval Academy, and was a teammate of David Robinson on Navy's 1985-86 team that advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.

His record at Dayton:

2003-2004: 24-9, NCAA 1st Round
2004-2005: 18-11
2005-2006: 14-17
2006-2007: 19-12
2007-2008: 23-11, NIT Quarterfinals

[Norm]

For comparison, here's info on Anthony Grant from the VCU website:

Grant, a native of Miami, Florida, cut his teeth during 12 seasons at the University of Florida and Marshall University as a top assistant to veteran coach Billy Donovan. After 10 years of building a powerhouse at Florida, Grant's work with Donovan culminated in the Gators' first national title in 2006. In 2007, the Florida team Grant help construct captured its second straight national championship.

At Florida, Grant served as Donovan's top aid in all phases of coaching, including recruiting, on-floor coaching, scouting, and practice planning. Grant played a key role in helping the Gators to the 2006 NCAA title, the 2005 and 2006 Southeastern Conference Tournament titles, three SEC Eastern Division titles and back-to-back SEC Championships in 2000 and 2001. The 1999 and 2000 teams made the first back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in school history and the 2000 squad made UF's first appearance in the National Championship game. The Gators reached eight straight NCAA Tournaments during Grant's tenure, capped by the national title in 2006 in which Florida became the first team since the 1968 UCLA Bruins to win both the national semifinal and the final by more than 15 points. The Gators were 226-98 (.698) during Grant's 10-year stint in Gainesville.

Lauded for his recruiting ability, Grant was an integral part in the recruiting and coaching of nine McDonald's All-Americans and seven NBA First Round Draft choices at Florida, including 2007 lottery picks Al Horford (No. 3), Corey Brewer (No. 7) and Joakim Noah (No. 9). Four of his last seven signing classes for the Gators were ranked in the top five in the nation by every major recruiting service. Additionally, he's made a similar impact in a short period of time at VCU. His 2007 recruiting class was ranked the fifth-best in the nation amongst mid-major schools by rivals.com.

Before making the journey south to Florida, Grant spent two years at Marshall, also under Donovan, helping the Thundering Herd to a 35-20 record. Grant also served as an assistant for a single season at Stetson, after wrapping up a seven-year stint as a prep coach in Miami. At the high school level, Grant's teams captured three state titles, five straight national rankings in USA Today and an overall record of 172-11.

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Grant spent his collegiate playing career at the University of Dayton (1983-87), guiding the Flyers to a 70-49 (.588) overall mark, a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, and one National Invitational Tournament berth. In his 105 appearances in a Flyer uniform, Grant registered 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds each time out and was named the team's Most Valuable Player as a senior.

His record at VCU:

2006-2007: 28-7, NCAA 2nd Round (lost in OT to Pitt)
2007-2008: 24-8, NIT 1st Round

[rocky_warrior]

Wow, A lot of love for Grant right now.  I'm gonna' pin this to the top.  I'm curious if it will stay the same distribution with more votes.

[Norm]

Wow. Thanks for pinning this at the top rocky. I'll add more coaching bios as I have the time.

[Norm]

Here's the background of Brad Brownell from wikipedia:

Brownell graduated from DePauw University in 1991. He immediately went into coaching after graduating. He spent one season as an assistant to Jim Crews at the University of Evansville, then spent the next two seasons on the bench at the University of Indianapolis while earning his master's degree.

Upon completing his master's degree in 1994, Brownell began his tenure at UNC-Wilmington as an assistant to then-head coach Jerry Wainwright. Brownell helped guide the Seahawks to four postseason tournament berths while serving as an assistant, including a memorable upset win over the fourth-seeded USC Trojans in the first round of the 2002 NCAA tournament. Following that season, Wainwright left UNC-Wilmington to take over at Richmond, and Brownell was promoted to head coach.

During his time as the Seahawks' head coach, Brownell led the UNC-Wilmington to Colonial Athletic Association titles and NCAA tournament berths in 2003 and 2006, narrowly losing in the first round each season. For his efforts, Brownell was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2006. In his four years, the Seahawks never finished below .500, and the 2005–2006 season produced a school-record 25 wins.

Following the 2006 season, Brownell left UNC-Wilmington to take the head coach's job at Wright State. In his first season at Wright State, Brownell led the Raiders to their first-ever Horizon League title, beating out nationally-ranked Butler to capture both the regular season and tournament titles. The Raiders earned the 14th seed in the West Region, and lost in the first round of the 2007 NCAA tournament to Pittsburgh.

Brownell's head coaching record:

UNC-Wilimington
2002-2003: 24-7, NCAA 1st Round
2003-2004: 15-15
2004-2005: 19-10
2005-2006: 25-8, NCAA 1st Round

Wright State
2006-2007: 23-10, NCAA 1st Round
2007-2008: 21-10

[Norm]

Scott Drew's bio from wikipedia:

Scott Drew graduated from Butler University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Although he never played high school basketball at the varsity level, Drew spent two years as a student assistant for the men's basketball team. Afterwards, Drew assumed an assistant coaching position with the Valparaiso University Crusaders men's team under his father Homer Drew. He spent nine years in this position, during which he earned a master's degree from Valpo and a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the nation. Once the elder Drew retired, he became the team's head coach for one year. In that year, Valparaiso won the regular season conference championship, but lost to IUPUI in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament, thus losing the bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the team proceeded to earn an NIT bid.

On August 22, 2003, Drew took the head coaching position of the men's team at Baylor after the resignation of Dave Bliss due to the scandal. Drew took over the team in August (unusually late for a coaching change) and most of Baylor's top players from the previous year had chosen to transfer.

Drew took over a program left in a shambles as a result of the scandal. Besides losing most of its top players, the program was put on probation until 2010, and had paid scholarships and paid recruiting visits reduced until 2007. Post season play was also cancelled for the 2003-2004 season, and only conference games were permitted for the 2005-2006 season. With these handicaps, Drew led the Bears to an 8-21 record in the 2003-2004 season, 9-19 in the 2004-2005 season, and 4-13 in the conference-only 2005-2006 season.

In the 2007–08 season, Drew turned around his Bears to finish with a 21–9 regular season record and 9-7 Big 12 record, and rank 4th in the Big 12. The 21 wins and 9 conference wins were Baylor's best since joining the Big 12 in 1996. It was enough to make the NCAA Tournament for only the fifth time in school history and the first time since 1988.

From the Baylor website:

Drew's recruiting success (three of his first four classes were rated top 20 nationally), particularly under less-than-ideal circumstances, has stocked the program with top-100 national prospects and provided optimism to Bears fans.

Long considered a top-level national recruiter, Drew's reputation was upheld immediately upon his arrival in Waco when his first three Baylor recruiting classes were rated 10th, 11th and 17th, respectively, in the nation (widely considered Baylor's top consecutive recruiting classes ever). The three-player 2007 class, while not ranked among the nation's top 20, did include the school's highest-ranked recruit in memory - LaceDarius Dunn, ranked 24th nationally by Scout.com.

Drew's head coaching record:

Valparasio
2002-2003: 20-11, NIT 1st Round

Baylor
2003-2004: 8-21
2004-2005: 9-19
2005-2006: 4-13
2006-2007: 15-16
2007-2008: 21-11, NCAA 1st Round

[Norm]

John Groce's bio from Ohio State's website:

John Groce is in his fourth year at Ohio State, second as the associate head coach of the Buckeyes and his eighth working with head coach Thad Matta.

In three seasons at Ohio State, Groce has helped the Buckeyes to 81 victories, two NCAA tournament appearances, a school-record 35 wins in 2006-07, a pair of outright Big Ten regular-season titles, a league tournament title and an appearance in the 2007 NCAA National Championship game.

Groce spent the 2000-01 season as an assistant under Matta at Butler, helping the Bulldogs capture the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular season championship, MCC tournament championship and a spot in the second round of the NCAA tournament. As a collegiate coach, Groce has helped his teams reach postseason play 13 times in 14 years.

A 35-year-old Danville, Ind., native, Groce is in his 14th season as an assistant or associate head coach at the collegiate level. He began his collegiate coaching career in 1993 as an assistant under Paul Patterson at his alma mater, Taylor University in Upland, Ind. During that time, Taylor compiled a 71-28 record and earned a pair of trips to the NAIA national tournament. He helped Taylor to a 29-5 record and a No. 1 national ranking in 1994.

Groce earned his first shot at NCAA Division I basketball in 1996 with Herb Sendek's staff at North Carolina State. The Wolfpack made postseason appearances in all four years (1996-2000) while Groce was at N.C. State, including the 2000 NIT Semifinals.

From 2001-04, Groce worked with Matta at Xavier prior to the move to Ohio State. The Musketeers were 78-23 overall during that span with three trips to NCAA tournament play, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2004.

Groce played basketball for three seasons at Taylor, helping the Trojans to a composite 86-18 record and three trips to the NAIA National Tournament. In 1991, Taylor advanced to the NAIA Final Four and finished with a 34-4 record. Groce earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Taylor in 1994.

[Norm]

Chris Lowery's bio from the Southern Illinois website:

Chris Lowery was born on July 7, 1972 in Evansville, Ind. and attended Harrison High School. He graduated from Southern Illinois in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. Lowery scored 1,225 career points and dished out 391 assists at SIU, which still ranks fourth in school history on the career assists chart. The Salukis were 86-37 (.699) during his four years.

Lowery began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Rend Lake Community College in Ina, Ill. for two seasons. He then coached at Missouri Southern State College for three years, helping the Lions to a 30-3 record and an NCAA Division II Final Four appearance in 2000.

Lowery next spent three seasons on Bruce Weber's staff at both Southern Illinois and Illinois. He helped the Salukis to a 52-15 (.776) record and two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2002 and back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference championships. He went with Weber to Illinois in 2003 and helped guide the team to a Big Ten title and a trip to the Sweet 16.

In four seasons as head coach at Southern Illinois, he has compiled a 96-41 record, won three Missouri Valley Conference championships and taken his team to the NCAA Tournament three times. Now 36, he was the youngest head coach in the NCAA Tournament each of the three seasons SIU participated under him.

Lowery's head coaching record:

2004-2005: 27-8, NCAA 2nd Round
2005-2006: 22-11, NCAA 1st Round
2006-2007: 29-7, NCAA Sweet 16
2007-2008: 18-15, NIT 2nd Round

[Norm]

Phil Martelli's bio from St. Joseph University's websit:

A 1976 graduate of Widener, a point guard, he was part of the NCAA Tournament teams in 1974-75 and 1975-76, and set the school's single season and career assist marks.

Prior to his arrival at SJU, Martelli spent seven years as head basketball coach at Bishop Kenrick High School and had a stint as assistant coach at Widener, helping guide the Pioneers to the 1978 NCAA Division III Final Four.

Martelli began his career on Hawk Hill with SJU's 1985-86 NCAA Tournament team. In his decade as an assistant, he was part of the Hawks' NIT teams in 1992-93 and 1994-95. After 10 years as an assistant at Saint Joseph's, Martelli was named the 14th coach in school history on July 20, 1995, and just the third non-alumnus to follow in the storied tradition of SJU coaches.

Martelli burst onto the scene in his first season (1995-96) and took the squad to the NIT championship game. He followed that in 1996-97 with the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, along with a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16. More NCAA berths came in 2001 and 2003.

In 13 years at Saint Joseph's, Phil Martelli has built a program that is consistently one of the top in the conference, a perennial post-season participant and a key player on the national scene, while earning his place among the top coaches in the school's storied history. The 2007-08 Hawks reached the Atlantic 10 Championship game for the third time in four years and earned the program's 19th bid to the NCAA Tournament, and Martelli's fifth. The 11th-seeded Hawks fell to sixth-seeded Oklahoma in the NCAA First Round, while ending the year at 21-13.

He is 132-76 in Atlantic 10 play, which is the most conference wins for any active coach in the A-10. Martelli has also been at his best when it counts the most as his 17 postseason wins (6 NCAA, 11 NIT) are the most in school history.

One of the more colorful coaches in the nation, Martelli's personality, wit and accessibility have always made him a media favorite. The coach has co-written a book, "Don't Call Me Coach: A Lesson Plan for Life" with Harold Gullan, Ph.D. The book will be published in the fall of 2007.

Martelli is not only passionate for coaching, but also for his work in the community. He is one of the leaders of the Philadelphia chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer, as the coaches from the city's six Division I schools strive to raise awareness and funding to defeat the disease. The Philadelphia Coaches are one of the top fund-raising groups in the country and have dedicated themselves to taking it to an even higher level. He's received numerous honors for his community work, and was named the 2004 "Citizen of the Year" by the March of Dimes, inducted into the CYO Hall of Fame for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and honored by the National Adoption Center. His alma mater, Widener University, bestowed upon him an honorary doctorate in public service in May 2004, while he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Cabrini College in May 2006.

Martelli's head coaching record:

1995-1996: 19-13, NIT Runner-Up
1996-1997: 26-7, NCAA Sweet 16
1997-1998: 11-17
1998-1999: 12-18
1999-2000: 13-16
2000-2001: 26-7, NCAA 2nd Round
2001-2002: 19-12, NIT 2nd Round
2002-2003: 23-7, NCAA 1st Round
2003-2004: 30-2, NCAA Elite Eight
2004-2005: 24-12, NIT Runner-Up
2005-2006: 19-14, NIT 2nd Round
2006-2007: 18-14
2007-2008: 21-13, NCAA 1st Round

[mueagle84]

Travis Ford from UMass

We should take a look at this guy.........eventhough it looks like he might be heading to LSU....I was impressed with the NIT Game yesterday and what he could offer.......East coast bigs,,,,,,,from Kentucky pedigree.....I would rather have this guy versus BuZZZZZZZZZ and the Dayton Coach


Travis Ford (born December 29, 1969 in Madisonville, Kentucky, United States) is currently the head basketball coach at the University of Massachusetts. He has previously been the head coach at Campbellsville University and Eastern Kentucky University. Prior to that, he played at the University of Missouri and the University of Kentucky. He also played Danny O'Grady in the 1997 movie The Sixth Man.

Playing career
After attending Madisonville North Hopkins High School, Ford began his college career at the University of Missouri in 1989. After making the Big Eight Conference All-Freshman team, Ford transferred to the University of Kentucky. After playing sparingly his sophomore year, Ford started his junior and senior years, and set school records in single-game assists (15), single-season three-point field goals (101) and consecutive free throws made (50). Ford was named to the All-SEC team his junior and senior year, and was recognized as the NCAA Southeast Region MVP in the 1993 NCAA Tournament.

After an unsuccessful attempt at an NBA career, Ford was called to play the role of Danny O'Grady in the 1997 movie The Sixth Man, starring Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison. While the movie received stellar reviews, Ford's acting career did not extend beyond that movie.

Coaching career
In 1997, Ford was offered a head coaching position at NAIA school Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Ford accepted the position, and in 1999 led the Tigers to a 28-3 record, earning Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year honors.

In 2000, Ford accepted the head coaching position at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. In 5 seasons at EKU, Ford led the Colonels from a 7-19 record his first year to a 22-9 record and an Ohio Valley Conference championship in 2005. In a much publicized first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with his alma mater, the University of Kentucky, Ford's team pushed the Wildcats to the limit before losing 72-64.

After the 2004-05 season, Ford accepted the head coaching position at the University of Massachusetts. Ford finished his first season at UMass with a 13-15 record, 8-8 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The 2006-07 season saw Ford coach UMass to the fifth most wins in school history, posting an overall mark of 24-9. The team shared the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season title with Xavier University, going 13-3, but lost to Saint Louis in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. After earning a 4-seed in the postseason NIT Tournament, UMass defeated the University of Alabama before losing in the second round to eventual NIT champion West Virginia University. The team featured Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Stephane Lasme. After the season ended, Ford's name was circulated as a long-shot replacement for the head coaching position at Ford's alma mater the University of Kentucky. On April 10, 2007, the University of Massachusetts announced that Ford had signed a five-year contract extension. Ford's contract with UMass now runs through the 2014-2015 season. Ford said after the 2006-2007 season that he received some inquiries from high-profile schools, but told them he wasn't interested, saying "I think the [UMass] program is heading in an exciting direction. I want to be part of it."

Through the 2006-07 season, Ford's Division I coaching record stands at 98-104, and 165-135 overall (67-31 at Campbellsville, 61-80 at EKU, 37-24 at UMass).